The Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) is easily one of Europe’s most popular airshows, as over 170,000 excited visitors descend on RAF Fairford in the UK over a long weekend in July. However, adding to an already stellar international lineup, the news that the Republic of Korea’s military display team – the Golden Eagles – would be performing at the show was met with great excitement, and their performance did not disappoint the myriad of eager #avgeeks ready to see just what makes this team so eagerly anticipated.
The 53rd Air Demonstration Group – the Black Eagles – is based at Wonju, Ganguon Province, and fly eight KAI T-50B jet aircraft (technically trainers, but given the caliber of the display, that would be easy to overlook). The airframe comes from a family of South Korean advanced jet trainers, delivered by Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) in conjunction with Lockheed Martin, and the T-50 is South Korea’s first supersonic model.
The team’s presence in the UK this summer marks its first appearance on these shores in a decade, when the team secured the Boeing Trophy for Best Air Display at the 17th Waddington International Air Show in 2012. An inaugural appearance at RIAT earned the team the King Hussein Memorial Sword for Best Overall Flying Demonstration. (So, no pressure, guys.)
Ahead of arriving in the UK, 9 T-50Bs were taken apart and shipped across in three C-130 transport aircraft, reported Yonhap News Agency back in May. Once here, the team started a busy schedule with the Southport Air Show on July 9, basing out of MoD Boscombe Down, before their display at RIAT on Friday, July 15.
Photos credit Steve Bridgewater
I was lucky enough to catch the majority of the show in between press briefings, and as a conference speaker tried valiantly to compete with the roar of jet noise outside – closely followed by a cheering crowd – the Black Eagles tore into a meticulously choreographed display. Their fast-paced formation changes, mostly executed in front of the crowd, were performed with an exacting precision that left the audience in little doubt here is a team at the pinnacle of its performance.
Prior to the show, the Black Eagles had met with their RAF counterparts – the Red Arrows – and took to the sky for a joint photo opportunity. The Red Arrows said: “Two teams have a comprehensive discussion to complete a fantastic formation for their friendship-flight at RIAT and had a photoshoot to cherish the friendship”, which was a “good opportunity for Black Eagles and Red Arrows to demonstrate their unparalleled competence to the world”.
The Black Eagles will also perform a flypast at the Farnborough International Airshow this week, and let’s hope that they’ll be back before the decade is out!
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